Biography of Ashton File - Raleigh Co. WV The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 635 ASHTON FILE. As a strong and active member of the Beckley bar during the last twenty years, Ashton File wields an influence in his community that only men of marked strength of character and ability can exercise in a pro- gressive community where competitive genius points the way and sets the mark of progress. He has been a witness to and participated in the rapid development of this great coal mining section of the state where he is justly looked upon as a leading citizen and lawyer. Mr. File is the fourth child in a family of nine children and was born on a farm in Buckingham County, Virginia January 3rd, 1879, and is a son of Ashton and Elvira (Tucker) File. Ashton File, Sr., is a son of William and Sarah (West) File and was born at Barham, County Kent, England, in 1846 and came to America in 1869, locating in Prince Edward County, Virginia, where his wife was born December 1, 1848. They were married December 26th, 1871, and in 1872 removed to Buckingham County, where they have since resided with the exception of about four years spent in Chesterfield County. Mrs. File is a daughter of Henry Tucker and Louisa A. (McGehee) Tucker. Henry Tucker is a son of Joseph and Christiana Tucker and was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, September 10, 1797. Ashton File received his early education in the public schools of Virginia and worked on his father's farm until twenty years of age, when he came to West Virginia and entered the office of his uncle, Henry J. Tucker, of Mount Hope, Fayette County, who was then a lawyer, but who, previous to entering the legal profession, had had a wide experience as a civil and mining engineer and had been state mine inspector during governor Wilson'a administra- tion. There Mr. File learned land surveying arid read law, following which he attended the law school at West Virginia University, from which department he graduated as a mem- ber of the class of June, 1901, and was admitted to the bar in Fayette County, in September, following. For the first few years following his admission to the bar, the greater part of his time was spent in land surveying and in that way accumulated a sufficient competence to establish and maintain a moderate law office and keep the wolf from the door during the first years of his practice. In the spring of 1902 he removed to Beckley and formed a law partner- ship with Thomas K. Laing, who had been his class mate. This partnership was dissolved in 1907, and Mr. File formed a partnership with his brother William H. File, which con- tinned for ten years and was dissolved, and since that time he has followed his profession independently. In recent years Mr. File has devoted himself to land and corporation law, in which he has a large and lucrative practice. He is a member of the Raleigh County Bar As- sociation, the West Virginia Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He is a democrat and a member of the Presbyterian church, Mason and Elk. On June 14th, 1911, Mr. File was united in marriage with Miss Frances Nancy Wiggin, daughter of Henry Dwight and Mary (Strutevant) Wiggin, of West Newton, Massachusetts. They have two children, Dwight Ashton and Mary Frances. Submitted by Valerie Crook **************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. Files may be printed or copied for personal use only. ****************************************************************